Welcome to The Alliance: The Rebel Inside
by Zizziana
Summary: After a betrayal by someone she considered family, Cammora Armanca leaves the only home she's ever known only to cross the path of the Imperial who will awaken the Rebel inside. (Part 2 of 3).


_Six days after, "Children of Corellia"_

"I don't think she's doing too good, Amerden. She's taken Darius leaving so bloody hard. She doesn't have that brightness to her anymore, you know?"

"He hasn't even been gone for a week yet. It's going to take her some time. They've been real close, you know. Living on the streets after their parents were killed, then all those years smuggling together. They've never been apart for more than a day..."

"Yeah. I just wish I knew what to do."

Cammora "Cammy" Armanca was sprawled out over the table in the recreation area of the little YT-1300 freighter, not quite asleep. She'd woken up just in time to hear Mordecai and Amerden talking about her and she didn't think it'd be a good idea to let them know she could hear them.

Her throat tightened. Six days ago, her older brother Darius had left the ship that had been their home for the past nine years in an attempt to shake off pursuit of the CorSec agent who'd been closing in on him. The attention on Darius had nearly gotten Cammy killed and he'd decided that leaving for awhile and ducking low would be the best way to stop endangering her and everyone else.

Cammy hadn't agreed.

"I'm going to go check up on a contact, I'll take Zare and Rand," Mordecai said. "Keep an eye on Cammykins, huh?"

She nearly bristled at the pet name and then felt her throat tighten again. Darius had given her that nickname when they were kids...

Footsteps lightly padded away and she remained still, waiting to see if Amerden was going to leave too.

"You don't have to pretend anymore. They're gone."

She felt her face flush red and she sat up fast. "You knew?"

Amerden nodded, his eyes giving her that gentle look they'd always had. For a Corellian, the slicer was unusually soft spoken and calm.

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"If you'd wanted us to know you were awake, you wouldn't have pretended to be asleep."

She sighed. At nineteen, any other girl would have been out with her friends or flirting with boys. Instead, Cammy was living in a clanking, clunking falling apart freighter wearing combat boots and a leather duster and working in Mordecai Tallok's smuggling operation aboard the _Sabacc Hand_.

Most people considered her a pretty young thing with big dark eyes that sparkled when she smiled and long dark hair that she usually pulled back. On the petite side, her looks made most people think she was sixteen at the oldest, but no one thought she looked like someone who had thirteen years of crime under her belt.

"Sorry," Amerden said.

"Not your fault. You didn't make Darius leave. You didn't tell him to keep setting himself up as the contact so CorSec would start getting hot on his trail, you didn't make us live on the streets so we'd have to go to smuggling to improve things and you didn't cause the Imperials to go hostile and break out so that they could kill our parents and make us orphaned street thieves at the good old ages of six and nine."

"I'm still sorry..."

Cammy offered him a weak smile. No one could stay upset with Amerden for long. "I'll be fine," she lied. "Just takes some time, you know?"

Amerden nodded and grinned back. "Don't worry, Cammy. You still have the rest of us."

That she did, and even if they weren't her blood, they were still family.

"You okay with this?" Mordecai asked the next morning. "I know repairs aren't your big thing..." The tall spacer had once had a dominating warrior's build but time had knocked the edges of it off leaving him with bone aches and muscles that tired much more easily. His black hair and goatee were streaked with silver and as much as he hated to admit it aloud, he knew he couldn't quite pull of the same antics than he use to.

"I'm fine," Cammy said. "It ain't too complicated, just because I'm not an expert like Dar or Rand." She stopped for a moment. "Look, I's just some rewiring, huh?"

Mordecai nodded, clapping her on the back. "Zare, Amerden and I are going to go take care if some stuff, we'll be back later, huh?"

Cammy smiled at him and nodded. Mordecai had been the closest thing she'd had to a father since her real one had died, even if he'd been reluctant at first to have kids aboard his ship.

Once he was gone, she turned back to her work. Distraction had been welcomed in the past few days. It kept her from having to think too hard about everything.

She might have been working for an hour or even two when Rand finally crept in. Rand Jersen was Mordecai's nephew and Darius' best friend. He'd joined the crew five years back and the two boys had become fast friends. While Darius was the handsome, cunning mastermind at smuggling, Rand had always been the guy so ordinary he blended in, unless he did something stupid to attract attention to himself which had happened more times than Cammy liked to think about.

He stood there for a moment until she finally stopped her work and looked up at him. "Something wrong, Rand?"

"No," he said, shaking his head. "Nothing wrong. You?"

She gave him a dark look. "Do you really want me to answer that?"

"Hell," he muttered. "Cammy. I'm sorry. Look, I don't want to get you upset, I was just wondering something."

"Wondering what?" Rand had a weird look on his face and she wondered if something wasn't wrong with him after all.

"Look, I was just wondering with Darius gone, how much longer you're going to keep this whole thing up for. It's not something you got to hide anymore. I know you're worried that he wouldn't approve and all, but come on. Isn't what you want more important?"

"What I?" Cammy stared at him. "Are we in the same conversation I think we're in?"

"Come on, Cammy. You don't have to play with me."

"Play?" She blinked a few times, rubbed her head and muttered something in Huttese. "Rand, tell me you haven't gotten into Mordecai's Corellian whiskey again. You know what that does to you..."

"Cammy..." Rand snatched her hand, taking it in his own. "Look, I know you're always concerned with what Darius would think, but he's out of line. Thinking he's going to find some rich guy to make your record go away? That's delusional, even for a Corellian. We've been together for so long as it is. We might as well come out and admit it."

Her stomach twisted and she pulled her hand back. "Come out and admit what, Rand?"

"How we feel about each other," he murmured, taking a step closer to her.

Cammy tried to back up and felt herself hit the wall. Rand had managed to corner her neatly and no one else would be back for hours.

"Ra-Rand," she stammered. "You're the one being delusional. You're like a cousin to me, there's never been anything like that with us - ever."

Rand took another step closer. "You can't hide it from me..."

"Rand, Darius asked you to take care of me. He trusts you."

"Darius has never been fair to us, but that ends here now..." One arm slid around her, pulling her close against him and Rand slowly started to lean in, bringing his lips towards her, they were just about to brush hers when something in Cammy snapped into action and she twisted, bringing her elbow into his stomach.

Rand doubled over and swore. "Cammy, what's wrong with you?"

She shoved past him, putting her shoulder into it so hard he went into the wall.

"What the Hell?" Rand moved towards her.

"Stay away from me!" She took a few steps back. Things were happening to fast and she couldn't make sense of it.

"Cammy..."

She continued backing up. "Stay back..."

"What is wrong with you?"

"Just leave me alone?" She nearly hit the wall while stumbling away from him and as Rand stepped forward, she bolted away, scrambled up into her bunk and slammed the privacy panel shut, latching in in place.

"Cammy," Rand called. "What do you think you're doing?"

She slammed her hands over her ears and squeezed her eyes shut. She'd thought things were going to be okay. She's thought she was among people she could trust, people who were practically family. Darius had trusted Rand with his life and with Cammy and Darius hadn't been gone a week and Rand had already betrayed it.

Tears streamed down her face. She was scared, she'd freely admit that to herself now. She was scared and she needed space, she needed out.

She opened up the cupboard at the end of her bunk and pulled out a small bag. Without even thinking, she dropped in two changes of clothes, her hairbrush and other similar things, her old ragged book of Corellian children's stories she'd managed to keep all these years, a handful of holos and all the credits she had to her name. Once they were packed up, she reached for a datapad.

_Mordecai,_

_I'm sorry things have to go this way, but with Darius gone part of me just feels lost. I wanted things to get better but right now, I need my own space. This isn't your fault, you've done everything you could for us, been more like a father and we all know it. Right now,I just need to find myself and sort things out. I hope you understand, please understand I don't want to leave you too, it's just the way things happen. If you run into Darius first, let him know that I'll be just fine. I'm a Daughter of Corellia, I can take care of myself._

_Cammy_

Three tears dropped onto the data pad and then heard Rand storming about, slamming things and once she heard the panel of his bunk close, she slipped out as quietly as she could. Creeping out to the recreation room. Looking over her shoulder as though expecting him to come bursting out at any moment, she let the note where she figured Mordecai would find it, slipped her bag over one shoulder and slipped off of the ship.

She didn't look back. There were already fresh tears prickling at her eyes and she knew if she faltered for a moment, she wouldn't be able to go through with it. She squeezed her eyes shut, knowing that she just had to get out and she had to do it now.

Cammy wasn't sure where she though she was going in the end, but her first impulse had been to distance herself from Rand. On a second impulse, she'd decided that the best thing to do would be to catch the first shuttle and go to Coronet.

Coronet was a city she was deeply familiar with. Along the Golden Beaches, the capital of Corellia was a place that burst with life and nature mixed into a city setting. She and Darius had been born in the city, and it was streets and alleys of Coronet that the siblings had grown up on for the four years after their parents deaths.

What Cammy was sure of was the one trip she had to make before going anywhere else on Corellia or in the galaxy.

The gravel pathway of the cemetery crunched under her boots as she slowly followed a path that was far too familiar to her. She passed flat gravestones resting in the lush green grass, tributes to the wealthier citizens of the past. A cool wind blew and she pulled her duster tightly around her shoulders until she reached the small building she had been seeking.

It was a square, marble structure with a slight overhang and a matching walkway. Cammy made her way down it with a slow, deliberate step, knowing the way far too well.

She slipped inside and came to the back until she came across a eye height plaque that was oh too familiar. With a trembling had, Cammy reached out to touch the names engraved on it.

Kerron Armanca and Alystrin Armanca.

Her parents.

Cammy swallowed hard and closed her eyes. Even after all of these years, it had never become easy for her. All that was left of them was the pocket watch picture and a few scattered memories. She had just been so young when they had died. Remembering those days had become harder and harder as her life had gone from childish innocence to street survival.

"Mom," she whispered. "Dad..." It was all she could say at first until she took a moment to steel her nerves. "Dar, he left. I couldn't stop him, he's got that record and everything and..." she felt her voice shake. "I just want to go home, but I don't even know where that is anymore. Corellia's suppose to be home and all, but it's like I don't belong anymore. I've never felt so lost in my entire life. I just wish you were here, wish you could tell me what to do..."

The breeze shifted directions and she caught a sweet scent that made her eyes open and her gaze dropped to the floor. Someone had come and placed two white roses on the floor. She picked them up and studied them for a moment. They hadn't had enough time to start turning brown yet, whoever had brought them here had done so within the day.

"Darius," she murmured. There was no question of it in her mind, even with the other markers. Every year on the anniversary of their death, Darius had come by to leave a pair of white roses at their grave. If he had been planning to leave Corellia for a long time, he'd probably felt drawn towards visiting, just as Cammy had been. But if the roses were this fresh that just might mean...

She let them drop, and turned on her heel, hurrying from the building. There was still a chance that her brother was on Corellia and if he was, maybe, just maybe she could get him to take her with him. Never mind the part where he'd left for her safety. If she told him what Rand had done, he'd take her, and Rand would be lucky if he didn't come storming back to kill him.

If there was one place Darius couldn't resist going to, it was the Bloodstripe, a small tavern that was just on the other side of respectability. Whenever they came into the city, Darius tended to stop off here to see what less than honest work was available for a crew of hotshot smugglers.

Cammy slipped into the cantina. It was a seedy establishment for the most part, but tonight there seemed to be a few faces in the crowd she didn't recognize. At a far table with three young men chatting happily over mugs and at a second table were two men in Imperial uniforms as well as a handful of troopers.

"Nothing's the way it ought to be," she muttered.

"Hey Cammy!"

"Been awhile, Armanca."

She attempted a smile as several voices called out to her, asking how she was and where Dar and Rand had gotten themselves off to.

"Just me tonight," she said, slipping into a booth.

The bartender, a man named Clemers came slipping up to the table. "You look like you could use a stiff drink."

"I prefer to keep my brain cells," Cammy said. "But I think I'm good for a Corellian ale right about now."

Clemers went to go and get her a mug. "Anything on your mind?" he asked as Cammy dropped her credits on the table.

"Have you seen Dar by any chance?"

"Your brother? Can't say that I have, why?"

"We had a bit of a disagreement," Cammy said. "Thought he might drop by."

"I'll let him know you're looking for him if I see him."

"Thanks..."

She sat staring into the mug. She never drank it, she just tended to brood over it. Too many nights of having to drag her drunk brother and Rand out of trouble had left her taking the sober route.

In fact, she was so distracted that she didn't even notice that one of the men at the Imperial table was watching her.

Lieutenant Breckin had been with the Imperial Navy for a good seven years. Through dedication, hard work and flattering or blackmailing the right people, he'd moved up the ranks at a decent pace. But what truly set him apart from the others was his ability to delicately inflict pain on others. It hadn't taken long for the Empire to decide to exploit his little talent and he now was one of the Empire's top interrogators.

He sat in the cantina, watching the crowd of regulars. He'd been stationed here for a month, given instructions to weed out rebels among the spirited Corellians at any cost. But as he sat at the table, his attention turned not to Rebels but the young woman sitting alone in the corner. She's attracted his attention the moment she'd entered. There was something in her manner, in the way she held herself that drew they eye to her and kept it there, eager for more.

"You," he gestured at a patron nearby. "You know that young woman over there? Who is she?"

The man, quite tipsy already, squinted for a moment. "Looks like Cammora Armanca to me. Funny, she's usually here with her brother though."

"She's from here?"

"Born and raised."

Breckin nodded. "Thank you, you've been quite helpful."

The patron shrugged and Breckin rose to his feet. It was time he and Miss. Armanca became acquainted.

Cammy was still staring in her mug, biting her lip carefully. Brooding was something she wasn't in the habit of doing but Darius' departure and Rand's betrayal seemed like an appropriate enough occasion. After an hour of studying the texture of her ale, she'd finally come to the conclusion that Dar wasn't coming. He was as good as gone. By now he was probably off planet, heading off to who knew where. Could be anywhere in such a big galaxy, as long as there was a decent living to be made in crime.

She sighed and closed her eyes for a moment, opening them quickly when she felt a hand reach out and grasp her shoulder firmly.

"You look all alone."

She tensed immediately. "I'm fine."

"No, I think you need company..." There was something in the way he said it that made her blood run cold.

She turned, recognizing the man as one of the Imperial officers and a bit of anger rolled through her. From his bars she could tell that he was a lieutenant, an officer and all she could think about was how men like him had left her and Darius orphaned in the first place.

"No, I don't..." Cammy pulled away. "I'd prefer to be left alone, Lieutenant."

"Breckin," he said. "Lieutenant Breckin." He was an older man, by six years at least and the look he was giving her left her feeling vulnerable and exposed.

"It doesn't make any difference to me. I'm not one of those women."

His hand returned and tightened. "Cammora, I don't think I gave you a choice. Now why don't you just make things easier on the both of us, hmmm? I'm sure you'll find the experience much more enjoyable...I know I will..."

Cammy didn't think, she just reacted. One moment he was drawing closer to her and the next moment she had taken her mug of Corellian ale, turned in her seat and cracked him hard across the face.

Breckin swore and stumbled back and Cammy scrambled out of her chair.

A shout broke out in the cantina and Breckin lunged for her. Cammy neatly ducked around him and then shot her foot out, sending him into a table.

"When I say no, I mean it!" she said.

"You spiteful little-"

She quickly caught the fist that came towards her stomach and twisted his arm up. With his ability to defend gone, she kicked his feet out from under him and then hopped up over a table, looking for a way out.

She wasn't going to get one. A drunken, excited crowd had gathered and they were looking for a good fight.

She panicked, which was all the opportinity Breckin needed to grab her roughly. "That wasn't a smart idea, most women learn to love the men of the Empire, it makes their lives so much easier..."

She struggled to pull away. "You make me sick..."

"You'll learn to like me."

Cammy's next kick went below the belt. Breckin doubled over and she jumped onto a back table to get away. He came up slowly, fighting the pain and lunged to grab her.

In her mad dash, Cammy did the first thing that came to mind and reached for the shelves behind her. She pulled herself up and he crashed into the lower section of the unit. The entire structure started to teeter and She reached up to grab a light fixture and felt the shelf come down on Breckin.

There was a scream and a crunch that made her shudder and she swung onto the bar and turned to look behind her, expecting to see a rather dead man.

It wasn't that bad but it was bad enough. Only part of the shelf had landed on Breckin. His leg was twisted up in an angle that made her stomach turn but she didn't have the time to stop.

"You, you're under arrest!"

Cammy froze.

"Stop right there..."

Cammy didn't stop to think. Instead, she bolted towards the back. Three shots were let off but they all missed her by a good foot. Before anyone could do anything, she tore out through the back door, and spilled into the alley. She quickly looked around her, and drew out her blaster, switching the setting off of stun.

"You! Stop!"

They'd come around the back. She didn't even pause as she tore down the back streets, with the men in pursuit. They loosened several shots at her but each of them managed to miss.

Her heart was pounding so hard she thought it was going to explode but now she was running for her life and she didn't have time to stop. She scanned her surroundings quickly and tensed as she saw three young men beginning to approach her.

"What do you want?" her voice shook more than she had wanted it to and her body trembled with the rush of adrenaline.

"She went this way!" someone in the distance called.

"Come on," one of the three, a curly headed young man said. "We'll get you out of here. The Imperials are no friends of ours."

She hesitated for a moment. She had a good idea of what would happen if the Imperials caught her and it wouldn't be pretty. But with these three, she at least had a chance however small. Something in her instincts told her that she could trust them and whenever her feelings were this strong, she had learned to follow them.

"Lead the way," she said.

"Let's go," they all went tearing around a corner and she started to follow. "You know this area well?" one asked. He was lankier than his companions and had bright red hair.

"Within a few blocks mostly."

Three shots fired loose and they turned around to see who'd come after them. Her third rescuer, a muscular young man with a softer voice swore under his breath. "Imperials..."

"You! Hands up! All four of you!"

Cammy didn't move.

"Come on, that'll be enough. Give the girl up and the three of you are free to go."

"I don't think so," called the curly haired one. "I think it's best if you left us alone."

"You don't want this kind of trouble..."

"You want me?" Cammy called, turning, "Come and get me..."

She waited, watching as they slowly started to approach her. "Blaster down..."

Cammy tossed her weapon down. The odds weren't great at the moment, but she never had had much use for odds. One of the troopers approached her and gestured for her to turn around. She put her hands in the air and turned slowly.

"Rest of you, drop your weapons too..."

She heard the clattering of fallen blasters and then she wrapped a leg around one of the troopers, brought her elbow into his helmet and swept his feet out from under him.

The trooper went with a shout and Cammy dropped and rolled as shots were fired at her, reached her fallen weapon and came up firing. One trooper fell in a single shot and then she ducked behind a few fallen crates and took a deep breath.

Her rescuers had grabbed their weapons and scattered behind walls. Cammy heard her crate shatter as it was hit and then she rolled out of the way and was up on her feet.

A swift kick to the helmet knocked another trooper's head back and a good kidney punch sent him to the ground. The red-headed rescuer fired and hit another trooper while the curly headed one sent the last one down.

"I'm in big, big trouble..." Cammy murmured.

"Those were some pretty fancy moves," the curly-headed one said. "Where'd you pick those up?"

"The streets."

He grinned. "Well you fight like a nexxu."

She nodded. "Who are you?"

"I'm Jahen Gillsin. I'm from Borleias."

"That doesn't explain why you're here. In my experience, three men don't come to help a woman in trouble with the likes of the Imperials unless they're looking to get something out of it."

Jahen smiled. "Well, you haven't met the right men. Some of us aren't so fond of the Imperials."

She stared at him for a moment, knowing the answer before it even came to her. "Alliance?" she whispered as though the mere mention of the name would bring the authorites crashing on them.

"Alliance," he said. "And I can't help but to think you've got a bit of the Rebel spirit in you. The way you handled that man and the way you took those troopers down. You've thought of us before, haven't you?"

She nodded.

"Then why haven't you come looking for us?"

"I had things here that I couldn't exactly leave. Just trying to make my way through this galaxy, you know? Besides, it's not like you have recruiting stations set up."

He grinned. "Then what's stopping you now?"

Cammy thought about that. Her parents were dead, her brother was the galaxy knew where, Rand had betrayed her and now she was going to be a very wanted woman on Corellia.

"Nothing." She smiled. "Name's Cammora," she said. "Cammora Armanca, most people just call me Cammy."

"Cammy is it?" Jahen said. "Well, this red-headed trouble maker is Conall and this other idiot is Aran." He turned to them boys. "What do you boys think? Think Cammy here's got it in her to be a Rebel?"

"Think she crossed our path for a reason," Conall said.

"Yeah," Aran said. "See the way she took those troopers out, she's one of us, I've got no doubt in my mind."

Cammy grinned. "I guess this means you sign me up?" she asked.

"Yeah," Jahen said, holding his hand out to her. "Welcome to the Alliance, Cammy."


End file.
